I have the HD598s but personally didnt like them with metal. Although they are fantastic headphones otherwise (I used them a lot for movies, tv shows, gaming, soundtrack) but I lent them to a friend for a few months now.

I was very happy with the Grados 325i, so much so that I wanted to get the RS1is but I was unable to demo them. I ended up with the HE500s after demoing the HE6s. So far no complaints with metal, really enjoying them.

What didn't you like about the HD598's for metal, lack of bass? Just curious.

That is one of my favorite Opeth albums. The Cd does sound thin. I liked the album so much I sought it out on vinyl. There is an improvement in the sound and the guitar that was such a dense wall opens up to having nice tone and layers. I think that the album sounds like others from around that time. I always thought it was actually something that was common then. The first two In Flames albums sounded the same.

That album is all about guitar tone.IMO Notice how forward and guitar-centric the album is?

Europeans had those solid-state Peavy amps and guitar just sounded that way. It was the era of thin Black Metal guitar. They maybe didn't look for that sound but it was what their equipment sounded like, a trait of the genre was born. Now we think it's cool, then it was cuz they were poor.

Interesting. I got the limited edition pink(?) vinyl of Orchid and it didn't impress me anywhere near as much as Damnation on the same rig. Maybe I should give it another listen...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hyperfluxe

So what's everyone's gear/setup for metal? This has probably been discussed ad nauseum but then again the thread is 800+ pages.
I'm using my poverty HD598's + Xonar DX on my PC.

As in my signature I use Tera player -> Tzar 90 on the go (most of the time) or at home iBasso DB1 -> PB2 -> balanced modded Denon AH-D5000 (recently downsized from a Beresford Caiman -> CTH due to lack of home listening)

Never heard the HD598 but I had the 595 for a while which from what people here are saying here sounds similar - I liked it for metal when not in the mood for lots of bass and it didn't need an amp to sound good. Comfy too!

Interesting. I got the limited edition pink(?) vinyl of Orchid and it didn't impress me anywhere near as much as Damnation on the same rig. Maybe I should give it another listen...

Yes, there are numerous reissue copies. Mine is clear purple. It does not sound great but has a feeling all it's own. I still really enjoy the album. It just is what it is. To comparing it to say Watershed vinyl is silly. I have not heard Damnation either on vinyl but I'm sure it's better.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that Orchid is an underground Black-Death Metal record. The later records of Opeth became audiophile progressive death metal.

And how do you seek out mastering info? I guess I could go into the shop and write down a list of tempting looking catalogue numbers to check later, or stand there for hours looking online on my phone...

Shopping online is less appealing now they've added a two mile detour to my trip to the sorting office (where you collect missed deliveries) especially as vinyl doesn't fit through the letterbox!

Im a member of another forum full of vinyl buffs.A very knowledgeable crowd.They say to keep off coloured vinyl and pic disks and only go for black vinyl.Someone was on about the iron maiden pic disks sounding like ****.

Im a member of another forum full of vinyl buffs.A very knowledgeable crowd.They say to keep off coloured vinyl and pic disks and only go for black vinyl.Someone was on about the iron maiden pic disks sounding like ****.

Im a member of another forum full of vinyl buffs.A very knowledgeable crowd.They say to keep off coloured vinyl and pic disks and only go for black vinyl.Someone was on about the iron maiden pic disks sounding like ****.

That sounds like a handy forum... seems I was on the right lines with looking online but sticking to black sounds like an easy start. Cheaper too

Im a member of another forum full of vinyl buffs.A very knowledgeable crowd.They say to keep off coloured vinyl and pic disks and only go for black vinyl.Someone was on about the iron maiden pic disks sounding like ****.

So what's everyone's gear/setup for metal? This has probably been discussed ad nauseum but then again the thread is 800+ pages.

I'm using my poverty HD598's + Xonar DX on my PC.

My signature really says it all, I think.

At home I use my excellent Denon AH-D7000 powered by a Woo Audio WA6, with a Hegel HD11 DAC as source. Sounds magnificent!

My speaker setup is also good for metal: JBL LS80 floorspeakers bi-amped with a Harman Kardon AVR 355 surround reciever and an old Adyton power amp, and two XTZ W12.16 12" active subs . Sometimes I turn on the rest of my surround system (JBL LS40 surround speakers and JBL LS Center center speaker) for immersive/ambient 5ch stereo.

Out and about I use my excellent Colorfly Pocket Hi-Fi C4 Pro music player (all .wav 16/44.1kHz CD rips), normally together with my Sennheiser Momentums. Because the C4 Pro is so good (and has a proper fullsize 1/4" jack output) I sometimes bring my D7000s along instead